It Could Happen to Anyone
by TheHttydRaven
Summary: Jesse gets mugged on his way home from a late day working at Bondi, his phone is stolen and there's no one around, so he stumbles back to the tower to try and reach a phone and falls unconscious there, Hoppo and Maxi find him in the morning. Uhh...? Random angst fic ig? Idk. [Bondi Rescue Fic]


As Bondi Rescue is my first venture into RPF, I just want to make sure it is crystal clear that these works are works of fiction, and I would never want any of these things to happen to real life people. They are fiction and I never want them to happen for real. I just love angst :)

《◇》

The day had been scorching, and thousands had flocked to Bondi, giving the on-duty lifeguards plenty of rescues to perform. By the end of the day, all of the lifeguards had been exhausted, so Jesse had volunteered to stay behind to clean and close up the tower, which his colleagues had enthusiastically thanked him for before they left to go home.

After cleaning up the tower and locking everything away for the night, it was pretty dark out. Jesse wrapped his jacket tighter around his body, before making his way up to the street, sighing as he looked around the empty and deserted street.

No taxi's in sight. Great, looks like he'd be walking home.

Now, though, it was late and he had no time to dwell on his troubles, preferring to get back to his warm and comfy home. With a quiet sigh, Jesse pulled his sleeves down his goosebump covered armsnand concentrated on putting tired foot in front of the other, mental images of warm blankets and soft beds giving him the motivation for the multi-mile long walk home.

Unfortunately, Jesse's plan for warmth and relaxation didn't want work out that way. The lifeguards exhaustion from his busy day had clouded his usually alert senses, which was why the tired man could only slightly turn when he heard the quickly approaching sound of sneakers on the pavement.

The off-duty lifeguard spun to face his attacker, rush of adrenaline and fear flooding his senses as he stumbled backwards, backing away from the figure that was racing towards him.

They looked to be an average street thug, maybe barely into his twenties, who was clad in a dark hooded jacket that obscured his face, and most concerning- a sharp and lethal looking kitchen knife clutched in his right hand.

"Okay mate, let's not do anything stupid." Jesse kept backing away, eyes trained on the knife clutched in the young adults hand.

"Just hand over your wallet, "mate"." The man herded him backwards towards the shadowy alleys that ran between the countless shops, and a place where a crime would be unspotted from storefront security cameras.

This wasn't good.

"Hey mate, I ain't gon-"

The only warning Jesse had was the slight narrowing of the mugger's eyes before he moving, hand lunging towards Jesse's chest.

Jesse started to turn, but he didnt react quickly enough. The mugger's knife missed the spot he had wanted, but the weapon still slid into the lower quadrant of his abdomen, and suddenly Jesse couldn't think of anything, he couldn't feel anything except the white-hot excruciating pain that radiated through his body, taking over his mind.

Jesse crashed to his knees, hands clutched to the area below his belly button, the young man trying to stem the hot blood soaking through his ruined lifeguard shirt, spilling through his interlocked fingers and staining the cement below him red.

As Jesse slumped against the wall, he could feel hands rummaging in his pockets, pulling out his wallet and his phone before withdrawing, the sound of shoes pounding against the ground filling Jesse's ears before fading as the mugger raced away.

Jesse was alone.

He had no phone, no way of contacting himself.

Unless...

Jesse remembered that the lifeguard tower had phones. Phones that could be used to call for help.

As Jesse slowly stood up, supporting himself against the cold brick wall beside him, he coughed a bit and felt hot, coppery warmth in his mouth, liquid dripping down his chin.

God, he was tired. And so cold.

Jesse began stumbling down the road, bloodied hands clasped around the knife that was jammed into his lower abdomen, the pain beginning to fade as the noises of the surrounding world began to fade into white noise, his vision blackening around the edges.

After a few minutes of stumbling down the middle of the dark and deserted street, Jesse reached the tower, slumping against the door before extracting a hand from his wound and shakily dipping into his pocket, letting out a sigh of relief as his shaking fingers felt the sharp edges of the tower door key, which he withdrew from his pocket and inserted into the keyhole after a few misses, and turned it, unlocking the door and swinging it open.

Jesse stumbled up the stairs, free hand reaching out to grab ahold of the railing to stabilize them, before collapsing beside the desk, hand clutching against the shelf below the windows before he slipped lower and leant against the wall below the shelf, adrenaline fleeing his body, bone-deep exhaustion seeping through his body. His eyes drifted shut. He would just rest a bit, and then he would get to the phone. He just needed a moment to catch his breath, ee would just close his eyes for a minute and then he would get to the phone.

He would just take a moment...

《◇》

Hoppo smiled as Maxi bounded up to him, the young man yawning as they walked towards the tower, the rising sun casting a beautiful sight over the beach as the two lifeguards approached the tower to open for the day.

But... it was already open?

"We're supposed to be first, right Hoppo?" Maxi stopped outside the door, cocking his head in confusion.

"Yeah... the others aren't supposed to be here until eight. Maybe Jesse forgot to shut the door last night?" Hoppo frowned, before stepping forward and pushing the door open. "Hello?"

No response.

Maxi took a few steps up the stairs, before cursing and darting out of Hoppo's view.

"Jesse!"

Hoppo raced up the stairs, turning to see Maxi crouched over the slumped over form of Jesse, who was collapsed underneath the shelf.

"Shit!" Hoppo rarely cursed, but he couldn't help it as he dropped to his knees beside the young man. "What's wrong with him?!"

"Hoppo..." Maxi's voice was horrified, and as the older lifeguard followed Maxi's gaze, horror took a steel grip upon him too.

A knife stuck out of Jesse's abdomen, his shirt crumpled and bloodied around the wound.

"Maxi try to wake him up! I'll call an ambulance.: Hoppo directed Maxi, before standing and quickly grabbing the nearest phone, dialing the number he had known by heart, and quickly explaining the situation to the operator on the other line.

"Okay, they're sending an ambulance, we just have to keep him alive for five minutes." Hoppo sighed in relief, thankful that the newer lifeguard would be alright.

Hoppo had been wary of Jesse when he joined the team because of his criminal past, but over the last few months the young man had proven himself to have a heart of gold and he was a great addition to the Bondi lifeguard team, and it hurt Hoppo to see Jesse like this.

"...mmh..?"

Twin cries of "Jesse!" rang throughout the tower, Maxi and Hoppo both dropping beside Jesse as he blinked his eyes open, confusion clear in his pupils as he stared back at them.

"Jesse, you're gonna be alright. The ambulance is on the way." Hoppo rested a gentle hand on Jesse's shoulder, adopting a look of concern as he looked down at the injured man. "What happened mate?"

"I..." Jesse hesitated, eyes rolling in their sockets as he thought, a frown tugging at his lips. "I think he mugged me... m' wallet an m' phone..."

Hoppo and Maxi shared a look of anger as the origin of Jesse's injury was revealed, before their attention was caught by the growing sound of sirens, the ambulance coming for Jesse. Hoppo raced to throw the door open for the paramedics, who quickly moved through the tower to Jesse, one paramedic asking rapid fire questions about the wound and Jesse's medical history, which Hoppo and Maxi answered to the best of their ability as his partner did what he could for the wound at the scene, before calling his partner over to move Jesse to the stretcher that they had placed beside the collapsed lifeguard. As the paramedics carried him out to the ambulance, Jesse could only groan in pain, eyes screwing up as he was jostled by the paramedics movements. Hoppo and Maxi could only watch from the doorway as Jesse was loaded into the ambulance, worry for their friend clear in their expressions.

As the ambulance pulled away from the curb, Hoppo and Maxi could only hope for the best for Jesse, but meanwhile they would call the cops and see what they could do to figure out who had hurt their friend.


End file.
